Library Portrait of a Graduate

The library is committed to fostering information literacy in all members of the Taft community.

Graduates will make informed decisions about the media they consume, for both academic and entertainment purposes. They will consider the legitimacy of information based on the authority of the creator, while keeping in mind that “authority is both constructed and contextual (Association of Colleges and Research Libraries, 2016).” Graduates must take into account that authority is assigned by communities and that privilege may stifle other legitimate voices (Saines, n.d., p. 1).

Graduates will demonstrate skill in information seeking and collection. They will understand different search strategies and techniques are appropriate in different contexts, and will be skilled at extracting relevant information from multiple forms of media, both physical and electronic.

Graduates will understand that research is a form of inquiry. They will demonstrate an ability to ask incisive questions and construct well thought out theses. They will show flexibility in thinking and an ability to properly adjust their theses in alignment with evidence.

Graduates will use information ethically. They will understand both the reasons for and techniques used in properly attributing information and avoiding plagiarism. They will understand that information has value and will appropriately respect the rights of creators and the tension between those rights and fair use.

Graduates will embrace the need to optimally and convincingly convey information via multiple modalities (orally, physically, electronically, or any mix thereof), including those not yet existent.

References

American Associaton of School Librarians. (2018). National school library standards. Chicago: ALA Editions.

Association of Colleges and Research Libraries. (2016, January 11). Framework for information literacy for higher education. Retrieved January 31, 2019, from ALA.org website: http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Saines, S. (n.d.). How information works [Pamphlet]. Retrieved from https://www.library.ohio.edu/app/uploads/2018/05/how_info_works-final.pdf